Stress Testing Agile Digital Transformation

Our public sector has become increasingly dependent on data and technology. Policy reports indicate a substantial growth in the take-up of artificially intelligent and automated systems, often geared at improving government efficiency. Along with this, world-wide scandals of cyber security breaches and discriminatory algorithms accumulate, such as the Australian ‘robo-debt’ or Dutch ‘childcare-benefits’ scandals. This reveals a public sector struggling to use data and technology in a safe and responsible way.

But why are some governments failing? The cause is not simply the technology, but how government organisations use and enact this technology. I will bring the fragmented literature in public administration, information technology, and law together to study digital transformation from a whole organisation perspective. I will answer the research question: Which organizational mindsets, skillsets, structures, and cultures lead to agile digital transformation that enables a safe and responsible use of data and technology? The project focuses on municipalities, as local government is increasingly responsible for a range of vital services, while being subjected to important constraints.

I will develop a new method to answer this research question: a stress test. Current measurement tools fall short as they focus on isolated indicators such as number of government services available online. The stress test will provide a more integrated view of digital transformation, by requiring municipalities to simulate an organisation-wide response to a hypothetical stress scenario, using data and technology. By studying this response in multiple contexts, the project will provide a unique understanding of the organisational enactment of data and technology. This project will thus develop a new holistic theory of digital transformation. Stakeholders, such as municipalities and other relevant organizations, will be directly involved to optimize knowledge co-production and utilization.

Governments increasingly make use of data and technology. This digital transformation creates many opportunities, but it does not always go as planned. This has become evident through recent world-wide scandals with discriminatory algorithms and data breaches. The cause of this failure is not simply the technology, but the organization using it. This project will study the digital transformation of local government organizations by developing a so-called ‘stress test’. This will provide useful insights into how governments can use data and technology in a safe and responsible way.